White-Hot Hack (Kate and Ian #2)(27)

“Isn’t that counterproductive to discovering their security weaknesses?” Kate asked.

“Yes, but it makes him look like he’s running a tighter ship than he is.”

Kate looked nervous. “So we’re going into this with giant targets on our backs?”

“We would if we were starting the pentesting three weeks from now, which is what the CIO and I agreed on. But I found out last week that he and the CEO will be away at off-site meetings for the next three days, which is why we have to start today.”

“The rules just don’t apply to you, do they?”

He looked at her as if the answer to that question was obvious and shrugged. “We both know how bad I am at following them.”

“Won’t the CIO be furious when he finds out what we did?”

“Not after I show him all the ways we were able to penetrate the company. I’m going to drive home the point that black hat hackers aren’t going to agree ahead of time to only attack on a particular date. They can strike at any time.”

“So the IT manager would rather cheat than let a security firm discover legitimate ways to help his company become more secure. Isn’t that a giant waste of money?”

“Yes. And after the CIO tried unsuccessfully to get rid of me by saying they were already secure and didn’t need an audit, he admitted their budget wouldn’t allow for another one, which is why I told him we’d do it for free.”

“Why would we do that?”

“Because we don’t need his money, but we do need his referral. Several of his contemporaries at other companies have already turned me down. I don’t like that.”

Kate shook her head sympathetically. “Of course you don’t.”

“I was able to overcome his objections by pointing out how much sense it made to take advantage of a service that would cost him nothing, and if we’re successful—which we will be—then he’ll really be motivated to sing our praises. I used to do this occasionally when I was building my company the first time around. Works like a charm.”

“We need to penetrate the hell out of this company, don’t we?”

“We’ve got three days to get way up in there, sweetness. As deep as we can go.”

Kate picked up her purse. “Then let’s do it.”



They drove separately. Though it was unlikely, Ian didn’t want to risk someone seeing them getting out of the same car and putting two and two together later.

Kate called him when she arrived. “I’m here.”

“I saw you pull in. I’m parked a few rows over. I’ll text you when it’s your turn. Do it just like we planned.”

“I’m ready.”

She stayed in her car and watched as Ian walked across the parking lot palming two cups of coffee in one hand and a large white box in the other, the strap of his laptop bag over his shoulder. When he didn’t return, she assumed he’d successfully entered the building, and he confirmed it a moment later.

Ian: Hurry inside before this coffee gets cold. We can drink it with our donuts.

Kate: There are donuts?

Ian: I bought them when I stopped for the coffee. If I’m going to use the box trick, it might as well have something good inside it. I got you a chocolate one.

Kate: You’re the best. Where are you now?

Ian: I’m in my office.

Kate: You don’t have an office. Because you don’t actually work here.

Ian: I’ve commandeered an empty conference room on the third floor.

Kate: Of course you did. Okay, here I come.

Her heart rate increased as she got out of the car and walked toward the side door, carrying her own large box. She slowed down so her arrival would coincide with a cluster of people who were about to go in. The first person, a man with white hair and a kind smile, swiped his badge and held the door for the others. When he spotted Kate, he waited for her to pass through.

“Thanks,” she said.

He gestured toward the box. “Looks heavy.”

“Contracts. Took me four hours to get through them last night.” She adjusted the empty box, boosting it a bit higher as the lie rolled off her tongue. She remained silent, fighting the urge to add details to her story. The truth needs no explanation.

“Where are you headed? I could carry that for you.”

She smiled. “Upstairs. Thanks. I’ve got it.”

After watching to make sure he headed in the opposite direction, she got on the elevator. She felt the same thrill she’d experienced during her first social engineering assignment, and every assignment since then, although this time it was heightened. Tailgating her way into a building was definitely the trickiest thing she’d done, and she could see how the thrill of deception could become addicting. On the third floor she got out and walked down the hall, peering into conference rooms until she found Ian. A bite of donut disappeared into his mouth as Kate entered the room and shut the door behind her.

“Excellent job, sweetness. I expected nothing less from you.”

“Why don’t you like social engineering? Oh my God, it’s exhilarating.” She set her box on the table and leaned down to kiss him. “Mmmm… You taste like frosting.”

He brushed the crumbs from his hands and started typing as Kate reached into the box and grabbed a chocolate donut with pink sprinkles. “I do like social engineering, but I’m not a fan of physical entry and would much rather access the network with my technical skills from the comfort of my home office. But hackers are getting bolder, and when they start walking through the front door, you’ve got to figure out ways to keep them out so they don’t do what I’m about to do.”